Shadows of a Future
by Admiral Valerian
Summary: Sometimes a Counter-Guardian by the name of TOHSAKA would be summoned. But they aren't always the same person. Warning: mentions of Human sacrifice and such.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate, and this work is merely a creative and absolutely non-commercial exercise on my part.

Shadows of a Future

Chapter 1

"Silver and iron to the origin. Gems and contracts to the cornerstone. The witness is the great master Schweinorg. The winds fall into the well. The gates of the four directions close, the crown and the three-forked road become a circle. Fill…fill…fill…fill…fill…the starting number is five. Shatter once filled, so I declare yourself under me, my fate to your sword. By the power of the Holy Grail, answer my call. This is my oath: I shall be the good of all creation, and the evil of all creation. Seven heavens bound by three words of power, emerge from the circle of protection, keeper of balance!"

The summoning circle flared a bright red before fading as a woman materialized in the middle. She had long black hair and bright blue eyes, and wore a black, collared, long-sleeved blouse over a white (barely visible at the neckline) shirt, black pants and boots, and a long black cloak. She carried a cane topped with an amethyst, and she raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Servant Caster, standing as summoned. Tell me, are you my Master?"

Before Sakura could respond, Shinji interrupted. "She isn't, I am. Sakura hurry up and…"

"You presume to be my Master? You, a piece of trash without even the dregs of magical potential presume to be my Master?" Caster asked mockingly, before turning to the old man watching silently from the side-lines. "Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?"

"Well yes, Shinji is a joke." The old man answered in an amused tone. "A rather bad one if I might say so."

"…quite." Caster concurred, her lips twitching briefly in amusement. Pointing her cane at the spluttering and outraged Shinji, she fired a bolt of kinetic force and sent him flying.

"…nii-san!" Sakura shouted in alarm and Caster quirked another eyebrow in surprise.

"You actually care for that piece of trash?" she asked, clearly surprised. "That's rather…unexpected." Then her eyes narrowed, and she asked "Come to think of it, who are you again?"

"Sakura, my name is Sakura Matou." Sakura replied somewhat timidly.

Caster was silent for a long moment, then she walked to stand right in front of Sakura, began to examine her visually, causing the girl to blink in embarrassment. "Of course you are…" the Servant finally said.

"And your identity is…?" Zouken asked, and Caster shrugged.

"Sorry, but I can't tell you." She said, stumping everyone present. "You summoned a Servant from the future, but something prevents me from telling you who I am."

"We didn't build that into the system." Zouken protested, and Caster shrugged again.

"No you didn't." she concurred. "But you didn't build the World either. The World doesn't like paradoxes – unless you're a Magician in which case you can make all the paradoxes and to hell with the World – so in the case of Servants from the future being summoned, the World itself seals their identity so as to minimize the risk of paradoxes occurring."

"That certainly makes sense." Zouken concurred, nodding thoughtfully. "Normally Servants are summoned from the past, but there's also nothing that prevents them from being from the present or the future."

"…precisely."

"Very well…Caster, you will conduct the war from here at a safe distance."

"I will require a large enough space to set up my Workshop." Caster requested, and Zouken turned to a sullen Shinji.

"Shinji will help you with that."

"What?" he protested. "I am not a drudge!"

"You'll do what I tell you to, or I'll kill you and turn your corpse into a Familiar." Caster snarled, causing Shinji to collapse on the ground in fear and Zouken to chuckle with amusement.

"Caster, please don't kill my family members."

"Fine, then I'll just flay him to an inch of his life."

"That will be acceptable." He finally said, turning contemptuously from Shinji to face Sakura. "Sakura, you may return to your room. There's no need for any training tonight."

"Yes, grandfather."

* * *

"Where are you going?" Zouken asked as he spotted Caster walking towards the front door. The woman had spent the entire night building her Workshop in an uninhabited wing of the manor, which was now sealed off by powerful Bounded Fields and massive steel doors engraved with imposing geometric designs. Where the woman had gotten the materials for the construction were beyond Zouken, though several times during the previous night prior to the erection of her Bounded Fields he had sensed several spatial teleportations in and out of the manor.

"My Workshop has been set up, but I need to make certain preparations." Caster replied.

"Can you not perform them from here?"

"Most of them I could, but there are some which need to be seen to personally."

"I see. Very well then, but watch your back." Zouken said, nodding and heading back to his private chambers. "The Fifth Holy Grail War has already begun, and the other Servants are out there."

"That they are. But I find it unlikely that they would attack in open daylight." She commented while opening and stepping out the door. "It's too bright…" she complained, looking up at the sky and narrowing her piercing blue eyes. Looking around her, she stepped towards a nearby patch of shadow and walked right into it...

* * *

Within his private chambers, Zouken blinked in surprise at the sight his Familiars relayed to him. His Bounded Fields clearly indicated that she had teleported, but the way it was done…no, it just couldn't be possible…could it? If Zouken could sweat, he would have. It just shouldn't be possible.

* * *

Elsewhere a young woman seemingly appeared out of nowhere at the Fuyuki Central Post Office who proceeded to walk up to the reception desk. "Can I help you?" the older woman manning the post asked.

In response, she discreetly pointed her cane at the woman, whose eyes immediately glazed over. A part of her felt bad for using such brute force methods against helpless Humans, but there was simply no other way to access the safety deposit box she needed to access. "Take me to Safety Deposit Box 108."

"Yes, my mistress." The woman replied, before leaving the desk and leading Caster to her quarry. Upon arrival, the Servant immediately pulled out a silvered key and slid it in the keyhole, turned it and pulled out the safety deposit box. She removed and pocketed a bag of gems, several bonds redeemable at any time, and a vial of blood. That last one had been a surprise, but she fully intended to analyse it once she returned to her workshop. Caches like this were hidden across the city, and she smiled at the thought of the faces certain people would make once they realized she could access them whenever she wished.

Returning the now-empty safety deposit box, they proceeded back to the entrance hall. Once again, Caster discreetly pointed her cane at the woman and said "This never happened, and I was never here." Leaving the post office, Caster smiled. Next stop: a pawnshop, and then a bank.

* * *

"Under whose name will the account be registered under?" the teller asked, and Caster gave the appropriate answer. At first she had entertained the idea of depositing her newfound fortune – ignoring the little voice in her head saying that she had just robbed and pawned Tohsaka gems (to say nothing about the bonds) from under the heiress' nose – in a Japanese back, but she thought better of it. They would ask too many questions. As such, she had gone to a Swiss bank instead. No questions asked indeed.

"Do you have any further business, ma'am?" the teller asked after she had filled out the appropriate paperwork and had received her ATM card and check-book.

"Yes, I'd like to apply for a credit card if you please. A platinum card, if it can be done on such short notice."

* * *

Her financial business dealt with, the Servant now proceeded to High Fuyuki and entered the rebuilt Hyatt Hotel before walking up to the reception desk. "Can I help you ma'am?" the charming young man at the desk asked her.

"Yes, I'd like to reserve a three-room suite with a full service package for this person." Caster said, pushing a photo and several papers to the receptionist. "She will be arriving within the week."

"How long will she be staying ma'am?"

"She has some family business to take care of in this city. She might be here for a while."

"I see. Then we will need a down-payment."

"Do you accept checks?"

"Of course we do."

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Archer asked Caster as she sat on a bench across the street from Homurabara Academy. She regarded him with a mix of fondness (which puzzled Archer quite a bit seeing as the Servant seemed familiar for some reason), caution, and derision.

"I'm sitting here obviously." She answered, and a vein began to throb in Archer's forehead.

"I can see that!" he said angrily. "What I want to know is what you intend to achieve by sitting there."

"I'm waiting for my Master to come out." Caster replied casually; after her visit to Hyatt Hotel she had gone to several carpentry and metallurgical workshops to commission certain works (and paying extra to have them finished within three days), and a construction store for high quality silica powder which was to be delivered directly to the Matou Estate later that evening. And now here she was.

"Who are you?" Archer pressed, and Caster snorted.

"You don't really expect me to answer that do you?"

"You seem very familiar. Have we met before?"

"We have."

"Are we related?"

"Not by blood, no, but yes, we're related." Caster replied evasively, and Archer quirked an eyebrow at the wistful expression that briefly ghosted across the other Servant's face.

"Alright, I'll buy it." He finally conceded before walking off. "But I'm keeping an eye on you."

"Of course you will."

* * *

Zouken Matou was increasingly concerned about Caster. The moment she had returned along with Sakura she had immediately sealed herself in her Workshop. The only time she came out was to sign for the delivery of several bags of silica powder, which she proceeded to carry into her Workshop. The following morning saw something happen which caused even Zouken to recoil in horror.

Caster had emerged from her workshop accompanied by a pair of golems. Blackened steel plate covered bodies of Prana-infused mercury, ethereal flames flickering around bony fingers and skull-like faces. When he had asked her how she had created them, she told him that two nights ago she had abducted a large number of criminals from a nearby jail, placed their paralyzed bodies in specially-forged armour before pouring Prana-infused mercury over them while chanting a special Aria to complete the transmutation of their minds, bodies, and souls into loyal, if unthinking servants with inhuman power. Not quite Servant-level of course, but golems would certainly be classed as top-tier Familiars.

Zouken had absolutely no intention of fighting those golems on his own. Their inhuman strength and durability alone would make it dangerously difficult, but those ethereal flames would cause serious damage on a spiritual level, something he could ill-afford even at the best of times. In any case, Caster and her golems immediately went to work, carving out a circle in the grounds to the back, and engraving three circles in a triangular formation within. When Shinji had come home, he was immediately intercepted by the Servant.

"Why the hell do I have to be the one to donate blood for your ritual?" Shinji angrily protested while an amused Zouken watched from the side-lines. "Make Sakura do it!"

"You'll do it because I'm telling you." Caster said in a dangerously sweet voice. "If you don't I'll throw you in the pit."

"Y-you wouldn't…" Shinji said disbelievingly, his face pale with horror.

"Try me." Caster snarled, all trace of indulgence gone.

* * *

After bleeding Shinji significant amounts of blood, Caster immediately proceeded to complete her ritual circle by tracing out the lines with his blood. Zouken had watched from a window with a mix of revulsion and approval. Revulsion, for blood magic was anathema to modern Magi, and approval because at the end of the day blood magic was enormously powerful and power was power.

Once the circle was complete, three massive amethysts were taken out and placed in the interior circles, where they soaked up the light of the Moon for the entire night. The following morning had Shinji of all people retching in horror at the sight as Caster's golems forced even more abducted criminals to touch the faintly-glowing gems. Their bodies crumbled to dust in an instant, and the amethysts flared with an unholy and sickening light. Smirking, Caster immediately had the golems take the gems back into storage while she proceeded with her next series of preparations.

The carpenters and metallurgists had done their work well, and the deliveries were made on time. Within the safety of her Workshop, Caster engraved runic script crafting out forbidden spell matrices along the exterior of the wooden cradles that would carry the specially-prepared amethysts. Prana-infused mercury was then used to coat the interior, and blood was then painted on the runes to complete the design.

The rest of the bodies of the Mystic Codes were made from hollow beams and girders composed of magnesium-tungsten alloy and cored with pure selenium. Assembled by means of cold-riveting, the three Mystic Codes resembled skeletal pyres of metal, only instead of a platform upon which a body would be placed the cradles with their accursed gems took centre stage. They were set aside for now, as it was too soon to use them or even to move them into their final positions. But that didn't mean that her preparations were done. Oh no – she had more work to do, work that had to be done by the time of the full Moon.

All this time other golems had been engraving pentagrams in a circular formation around the city. Before the third night since her summoning had come to an end, she had abducted and sacrificed even more criminals at each pentagram, figuratively carving a blood crest around the city; a crest that would automatically activate when the light of the rising Moon fell on the city and simultaneously hit all the pentagrams at once.

Caster had nothing but contempt for those who branded her a heretic during her lifetime for her use of blood magic. So what if she spilled the blood of Humans to power her mysteries and to actualize her miracles? At the very least she was honest about what was doing, unlike her fellow Magi who hid behind a façade of hypocrisy and self-righteousness. They claimed the lives they took as sacrifices for the good of the art, and yet when confronted with one of their own who did so in such a brazen fashion they balked in supposed horror. They tortured others, created monsters by alchemical means, bred and traded their children like cattle…it sickened her. They had no right to condemn her mastery of blood magic, those filthy hypocrites.

* * *

The morning of the fourth day since her summoning saw Caster walk into a mental hospital and towards the reception desk. "Excuse me…" she asked. "…I need to meet with a certain Aoi Tohsaka."

"What is your relation with Mrs Tohsaka?" the nurse asked.

"I'm one of her blood relatives." Caster replied. The nurse gave her a look-over and noted that appearance-wise they could easily be sisters.

"I will need to see some identification."

Caster chuckled and raised her cane. The amethyst glowed for an instant and the nurse's eyes glazed over. "Young lady, you don't need to see my identification."

"I don't need to see your identification."

"You will have someone take me to Mrs Tohsaka's room."

"I'll have someone take you to Mrs Tohsaka's room."

"You will prepare the materials for her release into my custody."

"I'll have the materials for her release by the time you return."

Chuckling again, the blue-eyed Servant smirked as the nurse signalled another nurse to bring her to her quarry's room. "That's a good girl."

* * *

Aoi Tohsaka blinked her eyes open and sat up, gasping and looking around her in shock. She wasn't in her house that much was for certain, and she was wearing…a hospital gown? What in the…the last thing she remembered was getting strangled by an enraged Kariya Matou, and then darkness. Getting of the bed, she turned on the desk lamp and walked over to the window where she looked out over the night sky-line of Fuyuki City. A change of clothes lay on a nearby chair, along with a folded letter. Opening and reading it, her eyes widened in shock.

"Mother,

Do not under any circumstances leave your hotel suite; if you ever need anything just call for room service as I have made arrangements for a full service package. I will be heading there to join you after the night of the full Moon. Rin will also be joining us as soon as I can convince her to back down, something that would be easier said than done considering her attitude.

Sincerely, Sakura"

* * *

"_Sakura, what are you doing in here?" Tokiomi said, surprising the five year old girl whose attention had been completely focused on the book in her hands._

"_Dad, I…" she began to reply when Tokiomi knelt down and gently but firmly took the book from her._

"_Sakura you know you shouldn't be in here." Tokiomi chided her, shortly before his eyes widened at the title of the book. "Sakura…how many books have you finished reading?"_

"…_that's the fifth one." She replied, and Tokiomi's eyes widened even further. Rin had been studying Magecraft for only a year and she had barely managed to finish one book's worth of material, although granted that was also due to practical concerns and not just theory._

"_Tell me what you've learned then." He said, and for the next five minutes Sakura gave a surprisingly impressive report of what she'd gleaned from his books. Impressive for a child that is…although, she did possess a Sorcery Trait and while it wasn't exactly suitable for the family art considering what he'd just seen and heard (and the fact that traditionally Sorcery Traits were more valuable than Magic Crests), perhaps he should reconsider who he should pass on the Tohsaka name._

"_I see…very good Sakura." He congratulated her, fondly ruffling her hair. "The next time your sister comes for lessons, I want you to join her, understand?"_

"_Yes dad."_

"_Now go to your mother."_

_Sakura immediately left her father's Workshop and was almost immediately intercepted by her older sister. "Sakura, did father catch you in his library? Was he angry?"_

"_No, he wasn't angry…" Sakura replied while shaking her head. "…he also said I should join you in your next lesson."_

"_I see." Rin said, a flicker of surprise briefly flashing across her face._

Sakura's eyes opened while she lay in her bed, and she sat up and rubbed her eyes. "A dream…" she whispered. "…no, that was a memory. But I never did that…did I? Or could it be…Caster, it can't be…just who are you?"

* * *

A/N

Hmm…what can I say really? This chapter seems rather straightforward, so just ask your questions and I'll answer them if I can in the next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate, and this work is merely a creative and non-commercial exercise on my part.

Shadows of a Future

Chapter 2

"That is absolutely disgusting." Caster commented with a disgusted tone of voice as she literally walked out of nearby patch of shadowed wall and walked to stand beside Zouken. She looked down into the pit but her neutral expression didn't change as she discerned the barely-visible outline of Sakura's nude form as she the Matou mysteries were engraved onto her.

"Does it bring back bad memories?" Zouken smirked cruelly, but Caster merely snorted disdainfully, causing his smirk to fade.

"It seems you are labouring under the delusion that I am a future version of Sakura Matou. If so, then you are dreadfully mistaken." Caster responded drily. "In any case, regarding your question yes it does bring back bad memories, but nothing particularly distressing to me."

"Is that right?"

"Don't underestimate us, Zouken." Caster warned the old man. "Sakura is very strong. I of all people know that better than anyone else. Rin Matou was a truly terrifying opponent, wielding hellish power by combining the five Elements with the Matou mysteries, but even she was no match for me in the end. And here Sakura has the potential to wield even more power than I did at that point in time. Don't forget old man: what goes around comes around."

"Is that a threat?" Zouken growled at her as the Servant stalked away.

"No, it's a warning." Sakura Tohsaka hissed as she walked into a patch of shadow and vanished.

* * *

The following day none of the students noticed a woman walk out from under a tree, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. A whispered Aria and none of the students would give her a second glance. Well Sakura, Rin, and Shiro would, but the woman made certain to avoid them. Caster now made her way to the dojo where the archery club would hold their meetings. She cast a brief detection spell, only to grimace at what she found. There were only two people there, Shinji and some bint she didn't know busy fornicating away.

"Idiots…" she quietly hissed, pointing her cane at a group of teachers she spotted through a nearby window walking down a hallway. Smirking at the trouble Shinji and his whore would be in shortly, she strode off to find Ayako Mitsuzuri. Still, it was strange she thought to herself. The Shinji she knew was a whining coward (that hadn't changed though apparently) but was thoroughly cowed by Rin. This Shinji was rather…assertive in a very misogynistic manner. Oh well, he'd get his soon enough.

Spotting Ayako through an open window in one of the higher floors, she cast another detection spell and thankfully found no one capable of detecting her (Caster) in the same room. Smiling softly in satisfaction, she cast a compulsion on Ayako before walking through a shadow to the nearest toilet to Ayako's classroom. Within moments, Ayako finally arrived alone and began to wash her face. The moment she looked up from the sink at the mirror, she barely had time to widen her eyes in surprise at the sight of a black-clad woman pointing a cane at her before her eyes glazed over.

"Mitsuzuri-senpai…" Caster said before cursing softly at the slip of the tongue. "…Ayako, ask Shiro to clean the archery dojo later on. As for the reason, just be resourceful."

"Yes, my mistress."

* * *

…I am very disappointed in you, and especially you Ms Saionji." She overheard one of the teachers say as she walked out of a shadow to the back of the dojo.

"_Saionji, is that the name of Shinji's bint?_" Caster thought to herself as she climbed up a nearby tree and stretched out on a branch and waited for the right time. Casting a timed waking spell, she closed her eyes and went to sleep…

* * *

Shiro sighed as he took in the state of the dojo. The school had been in an uproar ever since the middle of the day, what with the discovery of Shinji and Sekai Saionji's illicit…activities in the dojo. The two had been suspended for the next month, and the teachers had announced that they would be clamping down harder on students and any illicit couplings in the future.

"Oh well, I might as well start cleaning up." He said, though a part of him was rather disgusted at the thought of what he'd be cleaning up. That is until he heard someone walk up to him from behind. Another part of him tensed up, but the way the figure was openly approaching tended to disarm him.

Looking over a shoulder, he was surprised to find someone who resembled a cross between Sakura and Rin standing behind him. "Can I help you ma'am?" he asked politely.

"Yes you can." She replied with a warm smile…then she hit him on the head with her cane, and Shiro went down. "Well now that that's been dealt with…"

Stretching him out on the floor, she began to chant an Aria while running her fingers over her torso. Shiro unconsciously grimaced and tensed as the immaterial form of a Noble Phantasm was separated from him and began to materialize before Caster. After another moment and a blinding flash of golden light, Avalon glowed in all its transcendental glory cradled in Caster's arms.

"Thanks for all your help, Shiro." Caster said, stroking his cheek fondly. Tucking Avalon in her cloak she leisurely walked out…and barely dodged a pair of spinning black and white blades, which spun past her and cut down a nearby tree. As the tree crashed onto the ground, Caster took her stance and readied her cane, its amethyst glowing brightly.

"Caster…" Rin said, appearing behind Archer a safe distance away, her Servant already wielding a fresh pair of blades. "…what are you doing here?"

"I needed something from Shiro." She replied neutrally, and Rin quirked an eyebrow in curiosity at her use of the boy's given name. Then she smiled coldly.

"I see…" she said. "…in that case I'm going to have to ask you to hand it over. Then maybe I'll let you live."

"Then how's this for a response?" Caster replied with a sneer, pointing her cane at the main school building. "…Panzer-Faust!" With a resounding explosion, the entire upper third of the building began to list and collapse on where Rin and Archer were standing.

"…Rin!" Archer shouted, grabbing onto his Master and jumping clear, all the while sending one his blades spinning towards the other Servant. Caster dodged the blade before jumping into a patch of shadow, which rippled as the Servant sank into it like it was made of water, causing Archer and Rin's jaws to drop open in surprise even as the wreckage of the school – both the upper third and the lower two-thirds – collapsed in on themselves.

"What happened?" Shiro shouting tottering out of the dojo and coughing in the dust cloud while rubbing the top of his head. Then he noticed what had happened to the school. "What the hell is this?"

* * *

Caster placed Avalon on a desk in her Workshop before looking out of a nearby window at the Moon. It was nearly full. "Tomorrow night…" she whispered, more than a little apprehensive. Blood magic was enormously powerful, so much so that when used in large-scale a rebound could simply put be disastrous. Then she registered a commotion in Sakura's room. Phasing through the shadows, she was simply stunned at what she saw. Sakura was struggling hard against a clearly deranged Shinji, who was trying to pin the girl down on the bed while removing her clothes.

"What do you think you're doing?" she hissed venomously, catching their attention.

"Stay out of this!" Shinji ranted. "This is a family matter and you wouldn't understand!"

"I find your lack of faith disturbing." Caster snarled mockingly, pointing her cane at Shinji who paled and reached up to his neck as invisible fingers of force began to strangle him. Raising her cane, Caster levitated Shinji to the door and threw him out, where he coughed away on the floor. Striding out with dangerous casualness, Caster pointed her cane at the terrified boy's crotch when Zouken intervened.

"Caster…" the old man said. "…Sakura's body needs to have its Prana flow stabilized. It is distasteful, but as a method it works."

"Stabilized…?" Caster echoed momentarily confused before her eyes narrowed in understanding. "A tantric ritual; how quaint."

"It works." Zouken insisted, but Caster carried on regardless.

"Tantric rituals are crude and primitive." Caster said, kicking Shinji in the crotch and causing him to curl up in agony. "There are other, more efficient means of stabilizing Prana flow. I'll take care of this." Without another word the Servant walked back into the room and closed the door behind her. Zouken sighed in resignation, reminded of why he had always personally considered the Caster-class to be very troublesome. With a contemptuous glance at the whimpering Shinji, he stalked off.

* * *

"Your clothes are damaged. Shredded, one might even say." Caster noted, looking over her Master. "Shinji didn't do that. What happened to you Sakura?"

"I…" she stammered out. "…I ran into a golden Servant. He tore me apart, but I…I killed him. And I…I'm a monster…"

Before she could say anymore, she found herself pulled into an embrace by the other woman. "No, you're not a monster." Caster whispered, rubbing Sakura's back comfortingly. The girl cried softly into her Servant's shoulder, all the while being held in her embrace.

"I'm sorry." Sakura apologized once the flow of tears had stopped. "I…"

"You don't need to apologize." Caster said, patting her on the head and giving her a rare smile free of ulterior motives. "Don't worry, it'll be over soon. Until then, I'll protect you so don't cry anymore."

"Alright, I'll trust you Caster." Sakura said after a moment, wiping her eyes. Nodding in satisfaction, Caster stood up before gently prodding her Master's torso with her cane. The girl gasped but didn't cry out as her Servant stabilized the flow of Prana in her body.

"That should do for now." Caster said, tucking the girl in. "Goodnight Sakura."

"Goodnight…" the girl responded as her Servant walked away and vanished. "…sister…"

* * *

Meanwhile, in her room at the Emiya Estate, Rin was pacing worriedly. The school's destruction had caused one hell of a ruckus, leaving both her and Kirei with their hands full. At least it should be that way had Kirei not told her to leave everything to him considering her involvement in the Fifth Holy Grail War. At first she had been glad about the matter of the cover-up being handled by someone else, but the look of preoccupation on the priest's face would haunt her afterwards.

That matter would quickly be set aside after she had arrived at the Emiya Manor and read a written notification from the mental hospital regarding her mother's discharge and into the care of a blood relative. This was very surprising and worrying, since to her knowledge her mother had no blood relatives apart from her…and that other person. She had quickly phoned the mental hospital but was unable to learn anything useful about who had taken her mother away.

"Who in the world would take my mother?" she asked angrily. Even worse was the fact that it had been done several days ago, and God knows what might have happened since then.

* * *

_Sakura dreamed of a battle in a vast underground chamber, in the middle of which was a towering construct of rotting flesh, black blood and raw Prana. Before the tower two Magi confronted each other. One, a pigtailed girl with silver hair, red eyes, and pale skin streaked with crimson, standing cocooned in black fire and crimson lightning. The other girl had flowing black hair and bright blue eyes, jumping from shadow to shadow and parrying what bolts of crimson lightning she could not avoid with a short sword whose blade glowed with a mesmerizing array of colours._

_The girl with the sword found an opening and leapt to attack, only for the white-haired woman to avoid her swing. Razor-sharp blades of poisoned wind swung against the swordswoman, who danced through them before jumping up and somersaulting backwards to land a good distance away._

"_Enough tricks!" the white-haired woman spat, and with a gasp of horror Sakura recognized her as the woman projected a dagger in her hands. It was Rin, but what had happened to her? What could have turned her into that? With growing horror she slowly turned and faced her Servant's younger self, who now held her sword with a two-handed grip._

"_I agree. Let's finish this, sister." Sakura Tohsaka said, shocking Sakura Matou at the sight of herself apparently untouched by the Matou mysteries and dressed in Tohsaka red and black. Hellish black fire erupted around Rin, while shadows flared around Sakura. Finally, the two sisters charged each other, stone breaking beneath Rin's feet with the force each of her steps exerted on the ground while Sakura's shadows distorted the space immediately around her and letting her build up inhuman speed. Finally, the two sisters closed, distorted space meeting cursed fire and with a screams of rage and hatred blades plunged into Human flesh._

_Rin's dagger plunged deep into Sakura's belly, but Sakura's sword stabbed right through her older sister's torso to emerge dripping from her back. "Jewelled Sword…" the younger sister hissed through bloody lips. "…of Zelretch!"_

_With a flash of brilliant light, the lower third of Rin's torso tore apart, the older sister giving a gasp of surprise as her hair and eyes turned purple and her crimson streaks vanished. The dagger in Sakura's belly was painful, but hardly fatal by itself, some part of Rin's sisterly instincts preventing her from killing her younger sister despite all her resentment. Sakura's strike however, was true, to say nothing of the damage caused by the point-blank release of the Second Magic._

"_Sakura…" Rin said, collapsing into her sister's arms. "…why?"_

"_I'm sorry…" Sakura whispered, sinking into her knees, tears slowly flowing down her cheeks as her older sister died in her arms. "…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"_

Sakura awoke, thin streams of sunlight passing through gaps in the curtains. Sitting up, she was unsurprised to find herself crying at her Servant's memories. "Oh Caster…" she whispered sadly. "…why would you do such a thing?"

* * *

The day dawned bright and sunny, but something was off. Dogs and cats around the city were agitated and seemed frantic at something that could not be identified. Flocks of birds fled the city en masse, drawing the perplexed attention of people across Fuyuki, while insects were popping out of every nook and cranny much to the distaste of all involved. Snakes were even appearing from the drains, and animal control found itself dealing with snakes coming out of toilets and calming down distraught and frightened women or children.

Even Zouken of all people felt perturbed through the countless worms and insects that made up his form, suspecting that something terrible was about to happen. Kirei felt likewise, and upon further investigation uncovered foetid waves of power resonating across the city. What it was he had no idea, but quickly realized that whatever it was it had long been prepared. In the MacKenzie residence, Lord Waver el-Melloi II was struggling to uncover the source of the vast, sinister power building across the city.

"Waver, what is this?" Rider asked while looking out a window.

"I don't really know to be honest." Waver answered worriedly. "It appears to be a Grand Ritual of some kind, but for what purpose I don't know. Whatever it is, the sheer fact that the gathering energy has a rather disturbing feel is evidence enough that we won't like whatever it's meant to do."

"So, what do we do?"

"It's too late to try and find the foci which anchors the Grand Ritual and focuses it." Waver said. "Our best course of action now is to wait and see what happens and then react accordingly."

* * *

"Blood is the soul of life…" Caster whispered, cradling Avalon in her arms as she sat waiting in her Workshop. She was alone now, having sent her small army of golems to standby around the centre of the Fuyuki blood crest. Others had prepared the central focus, subtly engraving a smaller pentagram in the centre of the city and moving focusing gems and their apparatus into position, to say nothing of preparing the blood sacrifices. She looked up as the steel doors leading into her Workshop cracked open and Sakura walked into the room.

"Caster, you wanted to see me?" the girl asked as the steel doors closed solidly behind her.

Caster smiled sadly and nodded, all the while setting all of her Bounded Fields on maximum defence. "Yes I did." She said, sighing.

"Caster, what's wrong?" Sakura asked with a concerned expression on her face.

"I'm sorry." Caster apologized before flashing behind her Master and knocking her out with a precise blow. Catching her before she fell to the ground, she pulled out a syringe and sedated her. "You'll feel much better tomorrow, I promise." Caster whispered. "But it's better that you just slept for now."

* * *

Night fell over Fuyuki. Cold fog shrouded the trees covering the mountains and hills around the city, while dark shapes stalked through the darkness. In Castle von Einzbern, Sella and Leysritt carried their massive halberds while Bounded Fields and magical traps were readied for an attack, Illyasviel opting to bunker down against whatever it was that was about to happen.

In the centre of the city, shrouded by a Bounded Field ranks of golems stood ready to await their mistress' command as she stood in the centre of a pentagram that covered a small park; thankfully not the one that had been the epicentre of the fire-storm that had erupted at the end of the previous war. Abducted criminals were bunched in groups of five at the pentagram's foci, bound and silenced. Sakura lay sedated in the centre, with the specially-prepared Mystic Codes arranged in a triangle around her.

Caster looked up at the full Moon as it rose into the city. "It's almost time." She said, walking over to where Sakura lay asleep. Taking a deep breathe, she raised her right hand, contorted it into a claw and stabbed down into Sakura's chest. "Blood is the life of souls." She said, activating her blood magic as she brutally tore out Sakura's heart. A moment later, Sakura's body erupted in a spray of blood as the Matou Familiars in her went into frenzy and sought to escape their dead host's suddenly toxic blood. Depositing the heart – and Zouken's primary worm – into a waiting bowl, she pulled out Avalon from her cloak and implanted it into Sakura's corpse. Then, with another whispered Aria, she forcibly restarted Sakura's higher-level functions, at which Avalon kicked in and immediately began to repair her shattered body.

Nodding in satisfaction Caster picked up Sakura's rapidly-knitting together body. "Caster…" Sakura whispered sleepily.

"Shush, Sakura..." Caster told her. "…you just sleep for now."

As Sakura fell back into sleep, Caster deposited her into the shadow of one of her focusing devices, which rippled like water as it teleported the girl to a safe location. "That idiot better not mess this up." She whispered before turning back to the central triangle. Meanwhile the moonlight was steadily creeping up across the landscape, approaching the outer foci which by this point were all but throbbing as the metaphysical fabric of the World struggled to relieve the pressure of the stored and figuratively fermented power invoked by the bloody rituals of Sakura Tohsaka.

"The Moon has reached its peak." Caster shouted, as the cursed amethysts pulsed in rhythm with the foci. "Let the feast of blood and darkness begin!" At her words, the blood sacrifices screamed as the spells that silenced them were collapsed by an even more powerful form of magic, their minds and souls immolated even as their bodies exploded in gory showers of flesh, blood, and bone. The focusing devices crackled with eldritch lightning as the bowl carrying Sakura's heart – and Zouken's primary worm – burst into white fire and were consumed…and a pillar of crimson light outlined by the central triangle blasted into the sky as the moonlight finally completed the circle and linked the blood crest to the Greater Grail.

* * *

A/N

Regarding Caster's magic; she can't use any of the five Elements since she doesn't have an affinity for any of them, but her Sorcery Trait 'Imaginary Numbers' allows her to teleport by simply walking or dropping through shadows. It'll be further explained in later chapters (especially the limitations of that form of Magecraft). Another one is her combat spells; while she has access to Gandr, her attacks are usually kinetic in nature. Panzer-Faust (literally 'armoured fist') is a high-impact attack comparable to a modern tank round. Naturally, she has other such spells in her repertoire, among other forms of combat and support magic. She wasn't the 'Countess of Iron' for nothing (at least among her allies as her enemies called her Sakura the 'Bloody Rose' for obvious reasons).


End file.
